Unlimited Text Messages are NOT what they seem

[Anonymous]

Hi O2,

The terms of my contract give me UNLIMITED text messages.  Imagine my surprise then, when i looked at my bill to see it is £6 higher than what it should be.

This is because:  If i add 3 recipients into a TEXT MESSAGE and send it, you define that as a PICTURE message to 3 people and charge me 3 x 33p.  Which equates to 99p for 3 TEXT MESSAGES!

As i have unlimited texts, how do you justify that?

NOT IMPRESSED!

[Cleoriff]

Hi @Anonymous

Yes...if you send group messages (usually up to 5 or more people)... or sms which include emoticons or emojis these will convert to MMS. If you send a text with more than 480 characters... this will also convert to MMS

Have a look at this guide here

http://community.o2.co.uk/t5/Other-Products-Services/Accidental-MMS-Sending-and-How-to-Avoid-it/td-p/689503

Other networks have similar restrictions so moving wont help you....As long as you keep to the guidelines set down within the link I have included, you wont be charged

[gmarkj]

Must admit I have fallen foul of this myself - only sent a 20 word text to 2 people yet came up as an MMS.

It might help if there was some sort of warning that came up. If you are not aware that this can and does happen then it could be a bit of a surprise.

[Anonymous]

"usually up to 5 or more people"

Text message - NO Emoticons or Emojis! Normal small text not an 'Essay'.  Two questions:  How do you explain being charged for sending to 2 or 3 recipients?

Usually isn't good enough.  Is it 5 or more, or more than 1?

[Anonymous]

Agree!  In 2 months i have been charged £12 more than i expected.  Imagine if this happened to 1 million people a MONTH! - Which it probably does.

[Cleoriff]

The guide I linked to states

"Group Messages

Another popular way of sending an MMS unintentionally is by sending a group message.

O2 recommends that you send group texts in batches of five recipients to prevent this."

Does your phone warn your texts are being converted to MMS? I know some do....

I don't make the rules... I was just trying to explain the reason this happens. I have also checked the EE website. Same rules apply..

[Anonymous]

Group Messages

Another popular way of sending an MMS unintentionally is by sending a group message.

O2 recommends that you send group texts in baches of five recipients to prevent this.

Above is an extract from the guide via the link you included.

On a number of occasions, I have been charged for send a group text to 2 recipients AND 3 recipients.  Explain please.

[gmarkj]

Cleo,
Not disagreeing about what the guide states, but the fact it happens with no warning (on my phone at least) is annoying.

I realise that the usual caveat emptor warning applies, but for most if it can happen there should be some sort of warning.

There is nothing on the o2 website (just searched for sms convert to mms) so unless you a)know about and b)use the community you probably won't find out about it until too late.

With regard to EE, is the info on their web or some sort of customer support forum?

[Cleoriff]

Hi @gmarkj I just googled it and found this for the EEcommunity

http://community.ee.co.uk/t5/My-Bill/SMS-Character-Limit/td-p/88806

I have had Motorola and Samsung phones in the past and have always been warned. I have also been caught out ...years ago when I didn't understand what 'converting to MMS' meant

[gmarkj]

Could be down to handset (as mentioned, happened to me on a Sony Xperia Z1), could be that the process has changed (from an official o2 point of view) and as this is a customer forum we are not aware and so the guide posted is no longer correct.

Could be any number of things.  Best bet is to contact CS (either 202, in store or on live chat) to discuss with someone that can 1)help resolve the problem, 2)put a block on your account so it doesn't happen again and 3) possibly issue a refund - no guarantees on that last one though!